The Penn's Grove record., 1887-10-29
NEGRO sUPERSTITIOSS.
Southern Darkics Who See an Omen
In Nearly Every Animate Object,

Southern Darkies Who See an Omen
In Nearly Every Animate Object,
The belief has prevailed among the
Southern negroes for many years that
the hand Of a dead friend Will bring
continued prosperity to It's posssssor,
and no doubt If the many c0lored grave
yards In that section were made TO give
up their dead the skeletons OF not a
few would be found to be minus the
right hand. The Southern blacks also
believe that the big toe of a deceased
friend, carried on the person, will keep
away disease, and that the toes Of an
enemy a be used IS charms to con.
jure their living enemies. Thus 1T is
they originated the lines:
wid dis honey toe,
Ill bring dem woe,
For daylight In de norma
Voudoo doctors--and there are plenty
Of them in the Southern States-carry
on an extensive traffic in human bones
and other portions Of the body. They
use the skull to perform a mystic cere-
mony for the sick, or to bring luck to a
poverty. stricken family; the ears are
employed in another ceremony, the out
come of which is to find out what your
enemies ere saying about you, and the
other bones all have a mission to per-
form while the voudoo IS humbugging
his victim. The voudoo doctor IL usA
ually a naturally smart darby, with a
good flow Of conversation. and as much
Inventive genius as a Bowery conf
dence man. In Washington of late ths
voudoos have become rather scarce, as
whenever they put In an appearance.
The country negroes in South Caro-
lima, Georgia and portions Of FLORIDA
have u very pretty and somewhat poeti-
cal superstition. During the stiffness
Of the night, when the gentle swaying
pine trees are singing their weird re-
QUEENS, whole families will sit about
their cabin doors and listen to this
music of the forest. In its changing
melody they hear the voices Of the dead
friends predicting good or evil for the
future or revealing secrets of the
tomb.
No reward could induce the negro
surfman on the North Carolina coast
to walk along the beach at night, es-
pecially during a storm, when the
lightning Is flashing and the huge
white-capped breakers come sputtering
In on the sandy beach. They imagine
they can see in the phOsphorscent light
the forms of sailors who were lost at
sea, riding in astride Of the huge bill
lows. On account of this superstition
1t has been found impossible to induce
negro coastmen to enter the life-savlng
service, no matter how well adapted
they may be for the work. The tedious
night parol along the desolate seashore
Is what they object to. The average
seashore negro would almost rather die
than to encounter the vague form of a
departed sailor man In the surf or on
the beach.
There are many minor superstitions
among the colored people. If a COW
stops in front Of a house and bellows it
is a sure sign that some one OF tnf
premises will die. II the COW bellows
twice the party marked for dissolution
will die IN two days, two weeks OF two
months. Should the animal below five
times, which Is a rare occurrence, a
death will occur in less than n week.
When a cock enters the house and crows
therein, 1t means that the family will
have visitors. To crow Just outside the
door indicates that the residents of the
house will be suddenly called away on
a mission. Sometimes an overfed hen
will make a sound which resembles the
faint Growing of young rooster. This
Is regarded az an evil omen, and the
luckless hen Is always .decapitated
when the owner is at all superstitious
| Scintists say the sound is caused by
indigestion. The darkies have a verst
they repeat In this connection. 1t i:
this:
A whistliag
And a Growing hen
VIII never come
II To any good end.
II The owl usually boots three times
| When this uncanny bird forget, itsel
and Increases the number OF boots tt
four OF five, the plantation negroes re
gard it as an men of sickness, starva
ton or death. To kill a cat mean thai
the person who did the killing will
have even years Of bad luck. To catcf
a water snake on your fishing line is
sure sign that your enemies are tryini
to entrap and kill you. Thus tn,
negro says:
Catch a snake,
IL Let him 90,
H. For death Is a comm
Sho and sho.
To see a flock of crows towering
about your house Is a very bad sign,
and to drop your Bible while going t,
church indicates that the devil Is aftel
you. To see three white horses at the
same time Is an omen of death, and e
find a toad frog in your path is a Ger
tain sign that q marriage will shortl,
take place In your family. The aver
age Southern darby sees an omen TO
good or evil In nearly every animal,
and lnanimate object. and they believe
in these omens almost as religiously a
they do in the Bible.